


(Fallen) Guardian Angel

by Nellancholy



Category: League of Legends, Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, immortal angel yohane, interdimensional au, it's interesting to imagine yohane with a couple centuries of maturity, star guardian ahri, very slightly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-06 08:14:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12813369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nellancholy/pseuds/Nellancholy
Summary: A magical fox girl and a fallen angel walk into a bar on the edge of the multiverse and bond over grief.





	(Fallen) Guardian Angel

Ahri’s hands tightened around the cloudy,half-full glass mug,its formerly ice-cold contents now closer to room temperature. The proprietor of the run-down,creaky bar sat behind the counter,not more than ten feet away from the table where Ahri was sitting. She appeared to be messing around with her phone,as some extradimensional sports broadcast played on the television screen above the counter,interrupted by a burst of static every few seconds.

 

Some people could run to the other side of the Earth to flee from their regrets. Some…ran to liminal spaces between worlds,ending up in various distant and magical places. Places like a dilapidated,rotting town in a dimensional bubble on the edge of the multiverse. For someone with the power of a renegade Star Guardian,the impregnable barriers between dimensions became trivial to cross.

 

There was a universe where they never attained the power of the First Star,where they got to live out ordinary,peaceful lives instead of falling valiantly in battle against impossible odds. There was a world where they attained power of their own volition,only to engage in battle time and time again at the behest of summoners.

 

Each time,she stayed in those worlds for only a short time before leaving once more. She couldn’t bear to look at their faces again. Faces of people just like her fallen friends. People who _weren’t_ her fallen friends.

 

In her bid to get as far away from worlds that resembled the one she came from,she ended up here. Maybe she’d stay a while here. After all,it’s not like she had anything to go back to.

 

The relative silence of the bar had grown grating. Reaching into her jacket pocket,Ahri pulled out her phone,plugging in her earbuds. Setting her phone’s music player to shuffle,she rested it on the table,before resuming her task of counting the bubbles in her drink.

 

A minute,an hour,or possibly a decade passed before a sudden movement at the opposite end of the table interrupted her. A pale,slender woman,about half a foot taller than Ahri,had taken a seat opposite her. The blue-haired,maroon-eyed woman smiled,easing into her seat. “This seat isn’t taken,is it? This place is always so packed this time of the cycle.”

 

Ahri chose not to point out that that was a barefaced lie,considering how they seemed to be the only patrons in the establishment,and instead flicked her gaze over her new companion. The first thing that struck Ahri was her curious hairstyle,consisting of a lopsided bun leaning towards the right side of her head,pinned by a black feather and accompanied by long,straight bangs.

 

What struck Ahri next was…everything else. The small,feathery growths above the woman’s shoulders,looking as though a pair of crow’s wings had been taped to her back. The black,strapped cocktail dress and platform boots that Syndra would have dismissed as trying too hard. The glowing golden bracelet around her right arm that seemed to pulse with an intense energy.

 

In light of all this,Ahri decided at least,not to appear rude,as she took out one of her earbuds,stuffing it into her jacket pocket as she smiled back. “Why…not at all. Feel free to sit there. Right opposite me.”

 

Neither Ahri’s new guest nor the bartender seemed to have moved,but a tall chocolate sundae had materialized on the table in front of them,and she was already digging in. Noticing Ahri’s response,she sat up sheepishly. “Uh,you want some?”

 

Ahri sat up straight,shaking her head slightly and just hoping this odd woman would finish quick and leave her to brood. “No,no…I think I’m fine,miss…”

 

“Yohane. Yohane,the mistress of sin,the head of the army of little demons that spans the multiverse.” She rattled off that last part like it was the most ordinary thing in the world. Seemingly not done invading Ahri’s space,she reached over,turning on the screen of Ahri’s phone. “Hey,whatcha listening to?” Yohane paused. “Oh man,[Guilty Kiss](http://love-live.wikia.com/wiki/Guilty_Kiss)? Now that’s some niche stuff.”

 

All of a sudden,Yohane’s mood seemed to have shifted,as she pulled her sundae closer to her as she leaned back in her seat,making eye contact with Ahri again. Despite the change in her posture,she continued trying to make conversation with Ahri without missing a beat. “They were a subunit of…Aquarius,were they?”

 

“Aqours.” Ahri responded,drumming her fingers slightly. Despite her apprehension,she found herself going along a bit with Yohane’s apparent friendliness. “They disbanded a couple years back,though. Maybe you can find some of their singles online,or…” Ahri held her phone up slightly,waving it a bit as though trying to catch an errant wi-fi signal. “…whatever it is they use here.”

 

Yohane chuckled. “Used to have a friend who’d play their songs on loop a lot. Guess they really spoke to her. But look at me,getting all nostalgic for people who are so far away now…” Yohane tilted her head back,staring at the ceiling for a few seconds. Ahri heard her boots kick on the wooden floor. Then her gaze lowered again,meeting Ahri once again. “Say,you’re pretty new around here,aren’t you? This dimension…isn’t as bad to live in as it looks. Most of the people who are here…came from other places. They feel like…they don’t belong anywhere else. Or really,they don’t deserve to be anywhere else. And some…they’re running away from something they regret. Something they failed to do,people they failed to protect…”

 

By now Yohane’s gaze was intense as she continued calmly,her eyes almost seeming to burn holes in Ahri’s head. “ _I guess we both fit in that category,huh?_ ”

 

Ahri bit her lip. A chill ran down her spine. She considered summoning her orb,but at the same time,she couldn’t feel any kind of malicious intent or Void energy from the being sitting before her. Finally,she decided to put her mug to her lips and gulp down the rest of her drink. “W-what do you know about me,anyway? Look,I should go-”

 

Yohane shook her head,letting out a sigh as she raised her right arm to display her bracelet more prominently. Her voice rose as well,ever so slightly,allowing a firmer tone to slip into her speech. “If you’ll allow me just a minute more,to let you know I mean you no harm…In fact,what I can offer can only be good for you.”

 

Responding in kind,Ahri raised her hand as well,allowing an orb of blazing,destructive energy to coalesce above her palm. Her brow furrowed,as her tails bristled. “Talk. One minute.”

 

Yohane’s eyes darted to the glowing orb,before returning to Ahri. Wisely,she chose not to comment on that. “What I meant to say was…it’s clear that…we’ve both lost people. I know how it feels.” Yohane’s expression softened,her eyes narrowing. Her lip seemed to quiver a little. “You want nothing but to get as far away as you can from your failure. Bury your regrets under a ton of new memories…but after a while…” With her left hand,she carefully eased the bracelet off her right arm. The moment it left,it flashed with a bright light for a moment,before revealing itself to actually be a long lock of blonde hair,tied in a loop and apparently enchanted to resemble a modest piece of jewelry. “…after a while,you find yourself _NOT_ wanting to forget. So you hold on,you carry whatever you have that’s left of them…like _that_.” Yohane reached out,pointing at Ahri’s necklace. It was a plain black thread,from which hung four other star-shaped crystals. Red,blue,green,purple,all having lost whatever light they once had.

 

For a moment,the fire in Ahri’s gaze seemed to dim. But then it returned,flaring up as her left hand gripped her necklace tightly. “So what?! You’re here to tell me to let go?! To forget my friends?! My love?!” Before she knew it,hot tears were rolling down her cheeks,as her voice pierced the silence of the bar.

 

“No!” Yohane raised both her hands,in a gesture of almost-surrender. “I can’t do that! I can’t…answer that question for you. You have to decide…what you let go of. What you hold on to…”

 

The blazing orb in Ahri’s hand sputtered,and winked out,as she buried her head in her hands. She found herself muttering their names…just like she screamed for them on that one fateful night. “ _Syndra…Ezreal…Sarah…Soraka…_ ”

 

Soon,she felt Yohane’s hands on the back of her head,gently stroking through her hair. “There there…I’m not about to leave you like this,little demon. Here…” Yohane produced a few sheets of tissue paper,which Ahri obligingly used to wipe off her face.

 

As Ahri sat up and opened her eyes again,she blinked as she looked at the tissue. Somehow,her tears had revealed what appeared to be an elaborate magic circle,that looked to be drawn on the paper with black pen. “W-what..? This is…”

 

Yohane’s now cheerful voice came from beside her,as she stepped back into Ahri’s field of view. “Aw…that’s no big deal. Don’t think of it as a contract. Think of it as…a friendship coupon! Whether you stay here or keep travelling the dimensions…if you ever feel sad or scared…just use that! Give it a little blood,or hair or whatever. I’m not- I mean, _it’s_ not picky. Then I can show up and keep you company! I know how lonely it can get out there…”

 

So that was her game. Ahri sniffled,folding up the crumpled tissue paper neatly before slipping it into her pocket. “Yeah…I guess I’ll think about that…”

 

But when she looked up,the sundae glass was empty,and her troublesome guest was gone.

 

“ _I’ll be waiting for your call,little demon…_ ”


End file.
